Constellation Theatre Company
Constellation Theatre Company is a non-profit theater company located in Washington, D.C. It performs at Source, a flexible black box theatre in Washington, D.C. Since its founding in 2007, Constellation has received several Helen Hayes Awards including The John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company in 2009.
Constellation Theatre Company Logo | |
Formation | 2007 |
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Type | Theatre group |
Purpose | Epic, ensemble theatre from around the world |
Location |
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Artistic director(s) | Allison Arkell Stockman (Founding Artistic Director) |
Website | http://www.constellationtheatre.org/ |
Facilities
Constellation Theatre Company uses the facilities of CulturalDC's Source at 1835 14th St NW. It features a 120-seat black box performance space. The upper floor has a rehearsal room, conference room, and office space[1]
Artistic leadership
Constellation Theatre Company's founding artistic director is Allison Arkell Stockman. A 1996 graduate of Princeton University and a 2001 graduate of Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, Allison was a freelance director in Washington, DC and New York City. In 2006 she quit her job as a teacher, took short-term jobs for a year, and then started the theater company in 2007.[2]
Productions
Current productions
- 2018-2019 Season: Epic Love
- Melancholy Play: A Contemporary Farce by Sarah Ruhl
- Aida with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, and David Henry Hwang
- The Master and Margarita adapted by Edward Kemp
- The White Snake by Mary Zimmerman, based on the Chinese legend of the white snake
Production history
- 2017-2018 Season: Survival Instincts
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the silent film with live music by Tom Teasley
- The Wild Party with book, lyrics, and music by Andrew Lippa
- The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder
- The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht
- 2016-2017 Season
- Metropolis, the silent film with live music by Tom Teasley
- Urinetown music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann, book and lyrics by Greg Kotis
- Peter and the Starcatcher by Rick Elice
- The Arabian Nights by Mary Zimmerman
- 2015-2016 Season – Playtime for Grownups[3]
- The Adventures of Prince Achmed by Lotte Reiniger with live music by Tom Teasley
- Avenue Q music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, book by Jeff Whitty
- Equus by Peter Shaffer
- Journey to the West by Mary Zimmerman, based on the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West
- 2014-2015 Season
- Absolutely {Perhaps} by Luigi Pirandello (and sometimes titled So It Is (If You Think So) in English) adapted by Martin Sherman
- The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh
- The Fire and the Rain, by Girish Karnad and drawn from The Mahabharata
- 2013-2014 Season
- 36 Views by Naomi Iizuka
- Scapin by Bill Irwin and Mark O'Donnell adapted from Les Fourberies de Scapin by Molière
- The Love of the Nightingale, by Timberlake Wertenbaker
- 2012-2013 Season
- Taking Steps by Alan Ayckbourn
- Zorro* by Janet Allard and Eleanor Holdridge
- Gilgamesh, Poetry by Yusef Komunyakaa, concept & dramaturgy by Chad Gracia
- * world premier
- 2011-2012 Season
- 2010-2011 Season
- 2009-2010 Season
- 2008-2009 Season
- Temptation
- The Marriage of Figaro
- Crazyface
- 2007-2008 Season
- A Dream Play by August Strindberg adapted by Caryl Churchill[4]
- The Arabian Nights by Mary Zimmerman[5]
- The Good Woman of Setzuan[6]
- The Oresteia
Grants
In September 2013, the American Theatre Wing, (the Founder of the Tony Awards) awarded a National Theatre Company Grant to Constellation Theatre.[7] The grant is for general operating support to companies that "have articulated a distinctive mission, cultivated an audience, and nurtured a community of artists in ways that strengthen and demonstrate the quality, diversity, and dynamism of American theatre".[8]
Awards
The Constellation Theatre Company and its productions have been awarded the following Helen Hayes Awards.[9]
- 2013 – The James MacArthur Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor Resident Play , Matthew McGee, Taking Steps[10]
The Constellation Theatre Company was nominated for the following Audience Choice Awards
- 2008 Crazyface (Favorite Ensemble)[11]
- 2009 Three Sisters (Favorite Plays, Favorite Actress in a Play)[12]
- 2013 Taking Steps (Best Play, Best Actor in a Play), Zorro (Best Ensemble Cast, Best Actor in a Play) [13]
Costume Designer Kendra Rai was awarded a 2014 Princess Grace Foundation honorarium to be used for the company's 2014–2015 season costumes[14]
References
- "Source Rental". Cultural D.C. Archived from the original on 1 November 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- Jacobson, Louis (7 March 2012). "The D.C. theater scene". The Princeton Alumni Weekly. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
- Playtime for Grownups – 2015–2016 Season Mailing. Constellation Theatre Company. July 2015.
- Treanor, Lorraine (21 June 2007). "A Dream Play". DCtheatrescene.com. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- Pressley, Nelson (6 October 2007). "Constellation Sparkles In 'Arabian Nights'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- Horwitz, Jane (April 9, 2008). "Bertolt Brecht's Human Touch Constellation's 'Good Woman of Setzuan' Isn't About Isms". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
- "AMERICAN THEATRE WING ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF 2013 NATIONAL THEATRE COMPANY GRANTS". StageLight Magazine. 2013-09-03. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
- "American Theatre Wing Reveals Recipients of 2013 National Theatre Company Grants". broadwayworld.com. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- "HHA Nominees & Recipients". theatreWashington. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
- Pressley, Nelson (8 April 2013). "The 29th Annual Helen Hayes Awards Recipients". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
- Treanor, Loraine (2009-09-20). "Audience Choice Awards – 2008/09 Season". dctheatrescene.com. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
- Treanor, Lorraine (2010-08-26). "Voting ends tonight for Audience Choice Awards". dctheatrescene. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
- Treanor, Lorraine (2013-08-08). "Audience Choice Awards 2012–2013". DC Theatre Scene. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
- "Theater Honoraria: Kendra Rai". pgfusa.com. Princess Grace Foundation-USA. Retrieved 21 August 2014.